First Sign of Destiny
by Cross
Summary: Related to Arthurian legend and to find out more, read on.


Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, which belong to themselves and/or the various people who have written about them

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, which belong to themselves and/or the various people who have written about them.My deepest thanks to Alica Tylon for her help in getting this fanfic up, kudos to her and Airelle for initiating me into this website, and apologies to the readers if things seem out of place or the grammar is horrible.

It was not a bright and sunny morn and neither was it the thunder and lightning of a stormy night.It was merely the light rain common to the isle known as Britannia.

Outside the castle stood a man, swearing as he slid off his horse and ignored the groom who came to lead his weary mount to the stables.

Inside the castle, silence pervaded the air like the mist that reigned outdoors, save for some faint noises from the kitchen.The great hall was empty and the man met no one along the corridors to his chamber.Either the servants knew of his mood and deemed it wise to stay away or they were all asleep.It was the season when the days grew longer and the night stayed its hand and when knights were off on a new quest and princes returned to their native lands to check that their stewards had kept good accounts.

Inside his chamber, the hearth was cold though tapestries covered the walls and a carpet from Persia lay beside his bed of wood, wool and linen.He turned to the slit that served as a window and took a moment to scowl at the weather.

Muttering words that were similar to the ones he used outside, he used the flints he always had in his pouch to light the remains of the wood before he piled on some beech boughs.

Moving to the chest near the bed, he stubbed his toe on an errant chair and nearly yelped in pain.Biting back the sound, he demonstrated his frustration by kicking the chair halfway across the room.Built of solid mahogany, it did not break but merely resounded with a dull thud when it landed.

Smoldering but his emotions under control, he threw off his garments for a fresh tunic the color of the sea with a thin band of gold around the hem and the edge of the sleeves and breeches as dark as soot.His boots were sodden as well and he set them by the door, ignoring the feeling of cold stone against his toes.He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to recall if there was anything he should be doing right now and when his memory failed him, he shrugged to himself and pulled his sword out of his scabbard.Glancing at the bright sheen upon the runes that were upon the blade, he momentarily wished the sword was like any other and needed to be polished and sharpened just so he might have a task at hand.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of clanking armor approaching his way.He went to the doorway, sword in hand only to meet the look of his foster brother.

" No need for cold iron, my lord, " Cei said formally, though his tone was wry.

Arthur sighed and reversed the direction of the blade so that it was facing downwards.

" By fire and water, man, could you maybe call out your presence rather than leave me to assume the worst? "

" I present to you, " Cei said, his eyes flashing warningly, " Leodegrance, lord of the Summer Country, and his daughter, Gwenhwyfar. "Saying this, he brought forth an elderly man, who displayed an air of power about him despite his age, and a young woman of the same age as Arthur.Both their riding cloaks were gleaming from the droplets of rain studding the wool.

Stunned but only briefly, Arthur quickly recovered and said, " My greetings to you, Lord Leodegrance and to your daughter, Gwenhwyfar.This castle which you have come to may be your dwelling for so long as you should desire to remain and may it serve you as well as your own.I shall have Cei show you to your quarters unless there is something you need? "

" My thanks to you, my liege, " Leodegrance said gruffly.He genuflected to Arthur despite his great age and the sickness that had taken his strength for he had been a formidable warrior in his day." The hospitality of Caerleon is famed throughout the land.Gwenhwyfar- "

" My lord, I would beg a boon of you if I may, " Gwenhwyfar said, by way of answer to her father and Arthur.

" Daughter, this is- "

" Lord Leodegrance, I find it fitting that she should speak her mind if she is as good counsel as her father. "

Leodegrance flushed at this praise and said nothing.

" My King, I would ask that I might speak with you this afternoon. "Arthur was stunned for the second time that day.

" Gwenhwyfar!You have overstepped your bounds and forgotten your- "

" No, let her…if she wishes, " Arthur interrupted Leodegrance's outburst." With your permission as her father, of course. "

" If you so desire it, my King, who am I to gainsay your will? " Leodegrance answered quietly and with a bow towards Arthur and a slight jerk of his head towards Cei, both left the room, leaving Arthur and Gwenhwyfar to their pursuits.

" Would you like some mulled wine? " Arthur asked, recalling his duties as a host.Luckily for him, some servant must have brought in a jug shortly before he came, for it was still warm.He poured some into a goblet and handed it to her before serving himself.

" Was your journey here safe? " he asked, as he hastened to pull out a chair from the table.

" My Lord, you need not dance attendance upon me like a slave if you do not wish it. "

He stiffened at the tone of hidden laughter in her voice, although admitting to himself that her voice was quite pleasant.Fortunately not the high soprano the ladies of his court seemed to favor, yet neither was it the hoarse voices of the cooks that could often be heard shouting at some scullery boy or another through the day.It was somewhere in between and he was surprised at how soothing he found it.

Seeing as her head was turned to him expectantly, he answered hastily, yet somewhat annoyed, " I would not wish to be appear discourteous to a lady. "

He moved to pick up the chair from across the room and while he did so, the lady removed the hood from her traveling cloak.As he placed the chair across from hers, he glanced her way and nearly dropped the accursed thing upon his thumb.

If her voice was lovely, her face was lovelier still.Her hair was as golden as the sun, that is, when the sun actually deemed to show itself, and it appeared as smooth and fine as the cloth from the lands of Chin.Her face was pale but had a rather healthy glow to it, unlike the sallow features of some women of his station who never went outside castle walls. Her nose and cheekbones would have delighted the Romans and Greeks and her ears appeared as fragile as eggshells.Her lips would have outshone the finest rose or wine and upon noticing his gaze, she blushed and turned a most appealing shade of pink.

But the moment he saw her eyes, that was when he nearly fell over.They were of so dark a green that he had mistaken them for brown or black.A man could drown looking into them and certainly it felt like he was.Either that or lightning had struck his heart, rather than other regions.**__**

" Do you always look so at girls, King Arthur? " her voice mocked him.

" What? " he asked, his reverie broken.

She laughed and it reminded him of the trill of a songbird.

" You show great honesty in your opinion, Lady Gwenhwyfar, " he said, adopting a formal tone while smiling to show he was amused.

" Please, may we dispense with the honorifics? " she asked, raising one eybrow.

" As you wish, " he agreed." Tell me, what brings you to Caerleon? "He had his suspicions but waited for her to confirm them.

" My father has come to pay homage to you and to do some horse trading, " she answered blandly.

" I understand the homage but should he not have someone to do the trading for him? " Arthur blurted out, without thinking.

" He loves the horses, as I do, " she replied evenly." Having no sons, he allows me to come with him that I might have a good eye for such things, which may in turn aid the man I marry. 

" I am not yet betrothed. "

The blunt admission startled him a third time and deciding to move on to safer talk, he asked her, " How do you find Caerleon? "

" Is it always this wet? " she asked and they both laughed at that.

" At this time, yes, but it is beautiful during Samhain, " he said." Ah, are you a believer in the Romans' Christ? "

" I find myself open to the old religion and the new although my mother preferred the priests. "

" As did mine, upon the death of my father, anyway. "

" She wanted to send me to a convent. "

" Did you go? "

" It was of a sort.I trained in Avalon. "

At this, a strange look entered her eyes, one of someone who is far away from where that body sits.Although it only strengthened his immediate fondness for her, the look also frightened him.

" Do you want to go back? " he asked, brushing back his uneasiness.He did not deal with fear easily.

" Sometimes, I want to, " she admitted." But I want to help people and I believe that would be easier if I was out here rather than in Avalon.Nowadays, people tend to disbelieve the Goddess. "

" That is true, " he said." I wonder at that.True, there is something a man to has to fear from a woman, the very difference that marks them as man and woman.But I would like to believe I could overcome that since there is so much in women that men need.I do not mean only their bodies. "

Gwenhwyfar looked at him in astonishment.

He understoodthe reason why, and said simply, " Even a king understands what a cage is like. "

She nodded and a look of understanding passed between them.

" I see you have a harp there. "

At first, her statement confused him and then he looked at the wall and smiled and went over to take it down.

" Myrddin made this for me when I was a boy.Sir Ector insisted Cei and I have some inkling of music.Sir Ector always wanted to sing but claimed that he had absolutely no ear for music.That did not stop him from throwing us into Merlin's training, however. "

His affection for his foster father, who had died this past winter of old age, was clear in his voice.

" So, Myrddin attempted to teach Cei and I the finer rudiments of song, " he continued." Neither of us would be bards, even if we were able to be, but Cei turned out to have a fair hand for picking up a tune.He inherited it from his mother perhaps; she loved singing and had a lovely voice.As it is, he still sings now and then.If you and your father decide to tarry longer, I will try to convince him so you may hear and judge for yourself.I, however, have no voice worth speaking of. "

" But you can play the harp? "Her voice was soft, almost reverent, as she asked.

" Aye, I can, " he conceded." But not nearly as well as the lowliest minstrel… "

She looked at him and he at her and of their own volition, his hands settled in familiar positions along the frame and strings and he ran his hand down the strings, lowered his head and began to sing.

_Whither hast the lady gone,_

_From bower, field or home,_

_She hath left, left me forlorn,_

_To weep my tears and roam._

_Through distant lands, I go,_

_To see her face once more,_

_Beyond yon hills, I do not know,_

_Save the wounded heart most sore._

_Yet my quest will never end,_

_Nor will these tears dry,_

_Until the day I meet her 'gain,_

_Until the day I die._

" A song I heard on the path to Gwynedd, before I became King, " he said.

" It is beautiful, " she said.

" Not half as beautiful as you, " he murmured unthinkingly.

She blushed once more and he smiled slightly when she hastily asked, " If I may see it? "

" Of course, " he said, handing it carefully to her.She held it with the familiarity of personages used to their craft.

" You have been trained as well, I see? " 

" Surely not as well as you, my Lord, " she answered demurely, her hands absently brushing the bear carved into the sounding-board.

" Please, if you would. "

Her hands passed over the strings lightly, producing a wistful strain of music so faint that he nearly had to strain his ears to hear it.Hesitantly at first, then more strongly, she began to sing and he forgot about everything except for her.Even the words of the song, though beautiful, appeared to have no impact on him at all.

_He has gone, gone on a quest,_

_A quest where I have no place,_

_Such is the fire that has no rest,_

_And burns within him fierce._

_He will search by land and sea,_

_With the aid of sun and moon,_

_But when will he come back to me,_

_Will he return very soon?_

_Up on the castle walls 'til late,_

_For him to come riding back,_

_For him I will always wait,_

_Though my heart would crack._

As though she feared what he might do, she looked up slowly and he returned the look, he hoped, with all the wonder and awe that was in him right then.

" More finer than I by far, " he rasped, his throat aching suddenly from the strength of the feeling running through his veins.He wondered then, at what she saw when she looked at him.Did she see a vain and arrogant king?Did she see a man fumbling to impress her?More importantly, did she like what she saw?Women had come to him before and women he had known.Many came for his looks before he attained the truth of his birthright.He had occasionally seen himself reflected in the mirror his foster mother had used and in the still woodland pools.All he had seen of himself was a boy, then a young man with black hair and eyes and the hawk-like nose of his Roman ancestry and a frown between his eyebrows.

" My Lord? " she asked uncertainly, breaking this reverie as well.

" I-the sun is out, " he said, turning towards the window.The thin shaft of light spilled onto the floor, illuminating her in its path.It made her more beautiful but when he looked at her, using the eyes of an objective judge of man, he saw that her hands were tanned and there were the calluses of some labor upon them, most likely with herbs and healing, a reminder of her days in Avalon.Her shoulders were straight and she sat tall but there was no arrogance to her, just some calm sort of confidence, as she looked him in the eye.

Then, he realized she was watching him as well and in the same manner, no less.The air around them felt thick with tension and it appeared that something was about to happen.Then, almost at the same time, they broke out laughing.

" Would you like to see Caerleon when it is not wet? " he asked, standing up and holding out his hand to her.She looked at his hand for a moment, then slowly stood up and placed her hand in his.Their fingers entwined at once.For a moment, time stood still.

The spell was broken as quickly as it had begun and he was pulling her down the stairs towards the front hall and the great doors of oak and iron.

The stable boy was waiting and struggling to hold onto the reins of two horses, a black stallion and a solid gray mare, both whinnying to be free to run.He helped her astride and she accepted his aid graciously and they were galloping across the meadows in two flicks of a horse's tail while the stable boy hurried back to his cronies and began entrancing them with how the King was running off with this fair maiden.He exaggerated the tale, of course.

Later on would come the deep love and the even deeper betrayal.Later on would come lies, loss and loneliness.Later on would come the fall of a kingdom and the beginning of a legend.

For now, there were just two people, a young man and a young woman riding out among the hills, laughing and talking about nothing in particular, just celebrating the sun after the rain in all the splendor of springtide.


End file.
